Extreme Couponing – Tips for Beginners (Top Coupon Deals!)

This Wednesday the new 12 week series, Extreme Couponing, begins on TLC. When the original one-hour special premiered in December, I shared my thoughts in this post. Well, now that it is a regular series, there will be lots of people wondering how they can get in on these deals and, while it takes a lot to get to the point of these extreme (yes they really are extreme) couponers, there are some basic things you can do to start saving a LOT of money and begin to build your own stockpile.

UPDATE: Since posting this earlier this week, I have found out that a lot of you would like some very specific step-by-step instructions as to how to go about saving big money with coupons. Go ahead and continue reading below for some general coupon info and also a few specific deals to get you started but then, starting this afternoon, look back here for links to individual Couponing 101 posts (find them at the end of this post.)

I will start addressing particular deals below, but before we get to the deals, a few basic things you need to know are that besides gathering coupons from your Sunday paper (and by the way, you can always get a preview of which coupons will be in the following week’s paper at Sunday Coupon Preview), you can also print lots of coupons online at Coupons.com and Red Plum. You can also buy extra Sunday newspaper coupons from CouponDede.com (this is one of the biggest strategies of extreme couponers!)

Over the next few months, as I post deals that are examples of how you can use coupons to get items for free or even better than free, I will link them up here so you can have a simple reference guide of how you can go about coupon deals to make the most of your money.

Chrysa is the founder and owner of ThriftyJinxy.com, a site dedicated to living a fabulous life on a frugal budget. Her approach is that by spending less on the boring everyday stuff, you can have more money to splurge on the things you REALLY want, whether it’s travel, fashion, electronics – you name it! Chrysa is married, has a 5-year old nephew she dotes on, as well as two lovable cats and a big sweetie of a German Shepherd.

Comments

Just wanted to say thank you for this awesome site and all the great tips you’ve provided! I’m one of those people who saw the first Extreme Couponing episode on TLC and was totally fascinated but thought, “I can’t spend the kind of time they do on couponing, so I guess it’s not for me.” But like most people my family needs to save money wherever we can, so I did some research and landed here. The tips and resources you’ve posted here really broke down the process for me and gave me simple ways to save money.

Now I’m saving coupons and using them with sales at stores in my area. Starting small right now but I’m already excited to see the big percentage I’ve saved on the small number of items. I’ll definitely be returning to Thrifty Jinxy regularly and passing it on to friends and family! Thanks SO much for teaching regular people like me how to save $ on so many different things!

Can you give me a tip on how to find coupons for the specific items I buy? I notice that a lot of coupons are the same thing every month but not a lot of things that I buy so it keeps me from saving like I would like to. What do I need to do?

Your best option is to branch out and not only look at coupons in the newspaper, but also online printable coupons, coupons available from companies on Facebook, etc. If there are certain products you use regularly call or e-mail the manufacturer and ask if they have coupons available. Many times they will actually send you coupons and at times they might even include a coupon for a free item.

Thanks for the great tips on ‘extreme couponing’ I am VERY new at this and to be quite honest am just now really considering to do this. I’m a single mother of two children and while watching the shows on TLC I often have to wonder are these people shopping for a week or do they go once a month? I could not imagine spending 7 hours in a store! AND how in the heck do they get all this stuff home? lol So please I need to know am I going to be making weekly or monthly trips to the stores? Should I stockpile a month of coupons at first THEN go to the stores or should I cut out coupons this Sunday and go then? AND another question Where I live I have an Aldis where I can get generic green beans for $.59 (for example) a can would it be just cheaper to go there or coupon w/ Green giant coupons. Im hoping I am making sense I have so many questions in my head that Im trying to sound sensible LOL…

Hi, Wendy. After you start couponing for a while, you will determine the best method for YOU. But, in general it is best to go to the store each week. That’s because each week there will be different sales and the way to maximize your coupon usage is to only buy items that are on sale AND have a coupon. For some items you may be able to get a better price at Aldi’s, but at times you will be getting a better deal with the regular grocery store sale price combined with a coupon. The key is to maximize those sales and to stockup up at the super-cheap price so you won’t have to buy the item again until the next great sale comes along.

Ok now that I’m going to start this I have another quick question. I have a $2.00 off manufacturers coupon for any Aleve liquid gels 40ct or larger; I found an instant value coupon on Walgreen’s site for $3.00 off Aleve liquid gels 80 ct. may i use them together? Are instant value and manufacturers coupons the same? Can i use them even though the instant coupon states ‘not valid with any other offer’? Thanks for patience while I learn this

If I have two coupons for buy 3 boxes of cereal and save $1.10, can I use both coupons on the one purchase and save $2.20 on 3 boxes of cereal? The coupons are the exact same coupons. Thanks I’m a beginner couponer Kristi

Hi, Kristi. No, you wouldn’t be able to use both coupons. It’s one coupon per item. Since your coupon is for $1 off 3, you would need to buy 3 items. To use 2 of them you would need to buy 6. Hope that helps!

i see that on extreme couponing alot of times they stockpile an item,for example,one couple had pallets of 2 liter soda’s.now they must have gotten them nearly free becuase they had carraiges full of groceries,and they needed assistance getting the soda to the car,and their bill was really really low.in order to do this,do you need to have lets say 70 different coupons for the same item?if so,how do they get that many coupons for one item?kind of confused,would apreciate any insight,thank you…sincerly.new at couponing

While it’s easier to get great deals with double coupons, it’s not necessary. For examples, look at some of our deals listed in the coupon category to see deals you can get at national stores like Target, Walmart, Walgreens, etc.

Enjoying the site, and I’m also new to extreme couponing, also enjoy TLC’s show, I even live within blocks from one of the grocery stores that has been seen a couple of times on the show. Like anonymous from the May 6,2012 @ 11:44pm I am also curious about the same thing,and noticed that there was not a reply to her question. I am assuming that its all about getting multiple coupons for the same deal to get that quantity, so then is it really about getting multiples of the same coupon?

Hi, my name is Mary just came upon this site and glad I did. Been wanting to do extremee couponing but had no idea how to do this. I spend alot of time on my computer so can do some research the things you have provide. How do you know if stores will let us double couponing? Need to learn more, thanks so much for the help and I will return to your site Do you know what time couponing is on Wed nights?

Hi, Mary. Thanks for visiting. You will need to check with your local stores to see whether they double coupons. You can ask them about their other coupon policies as well. I don’t think there are new episodes of Extreme Couponing right now, but you can check TLC.com to find out when it will be airing.

I have been thinking about couponing for awhile now. Just never really knew how to get started. I have found your site extremely helpful. But I do have a question for you. If I have a coupon for $1 off three boxes for cereal and I also have a different coupon for $1.50 off three boxes of cereal for the same brand can I use it for the same three boxes or would I have to get six boxes in order to use both coupons? Look forward to your feedback.

I’am one of the million added fun of Extreme Couponing on TLC here in the Philippines. I really enjoyed watching American people who saved lot’s of $ for their daily expenses.
Hoping to experience same excitement and happiness like you guys. ♥

This site is very helpful. I’m 21 years old and just found out I am expecting a baby soon and my boyfriend is the only one with a job at the moment. I feel like extreme couponing with be a great hobby for me while I’m going through this pregnancy. Also, it would be a blessing for us to be able to save some money on groceries! I need all the tips and information about extreme couponing I can get. This site has helped out a lot!